Harbor Bay Village

So when it is Christmas, there are limited places to go and also limited places to eat.  However, if you know, you know that Chinese restaurants are generally open and hence, that is your best bet for Christmas Day or really any other holiday for all that matters.  So on our visit to the Bay Area, we followed this strategy and made our way to Harbor Bay Village.  Incidentally, this was also only a short 3 minute drive from our hotel.  Really, we should've just walked on over!

So we weren't sure what the protocol for service at this restaurant.  I say this because there seemed to be far too few employees for the size of the place.  We eventually got seated, but then again, we didn't get any tea or water.  That arrived much later and it was also difficult to get our order in as well.  Once that happened, we were served the BBQ Pork Pastries.  These were actually pretty good with flaky and buttery layers encasing lean BBQ pork in a sweet glaze.

One of the larger dishes we decided on was the Roast Duck.  It really was more deep fried than roasted, but I guess that is one way to reheat it.  Therefore, the skin was super crispy, but it also meant that the whole thing was pretty dry too.  Fortunately, some parts of the duck were still tender and moist (mainly the dark meat).  Another benefit of the deep fry was that the skin was well-rendered with barely any fat left.

For our choice of Rice Noodle Roll, we went for the prawn.  So the rice noodle sheets were relatively thin and translucent but it wasn't as delicate as it appeared.  There was considerable elasticity and a bit of chew in some spots.  However, that was fine by me since it still ate quite well and didn't fall apart like some overly soft versions.  As you can see in the picture, we found 2 large prawns per noodle roll.  They had a meaty snap and were properly seasoned.

We ended up getting a big plate of fried rice since the kids wanted it.  We got their favorite in the Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice.  When I say big, the portion size was very generous.  In addition, the rice was wok fried nicely where it was nutty, dry and caramelized.  There was a good amount of moist pieces of salted fish that added its trademark brininess.  Moreover, the pieces of chicken were tender and mildly-seasoned, allowing the salted fish to be at the forefront.

Normally, we go for the XO Daikon Radish Cake, but here, they had the XO Taro Cake instead.  Worked for us as we prefer the taro version more anyways.  Whereas the radish cake is delicate and pudding like, the taro cake is more sturdy and dense.  Hence, the deep fried cubes held together and had a crispier exterior.  Also, the pieces of taro had that nice starchy powder texture.  This was not particularly greasy since the wok toss wasn't aggressive.  Therefore, it need some more spice as a result.

Getting to the most important dishes of the meal, we had the Ha Gau (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings).  These were pretty decent in size and had a medium-thick wrapper which was translucent with an appealing sheen.  It was on the chewier side with plenty of elasticity.  As for the filling, it was mostly whole shrimp with some shrimp mousse to bind everything.  It had the desired snap texture while the taste was sweet and a touch briny.

Now Dim Sum would not be complete with the other part of this duo in the Siu Mai (Pork & Shrimp Dumpling).  These were also rather large in size with a fairly appealing appearance.  I would've preferred that they didn't steam the tobiko on top though (raw would be better).  Beyond that, the dumpling itself was bouncy and juicy.  The pork was tender and properly seasoned.  Best of all, there was minimal fat too.

One item that didn't pass the eye test was the Beef Meatballs.  They were pretty pale and the texture was a bit too dense.   I did appreciate that there was some actual beef texture left though.  We also had the Pork Spareribs and they were serviceable.  I thought that the seasoning was rather one note being salty with some garlic.  The meat itself was tender enough but lacking that classic bounciness.  These 2 dishes were my least favourite.

Onto the offal portion of our meal, we had the Bible Tripe with ginger and green onion.  This was decent with tender strips of tripe.  It was maybe a bit too soft as we lost some of the usual bite.  Flavours were good though.  On the other hand, the Chicken Feet need some improvement.  Other than so pieces being too light in color, the cartilage was still a bit crunchy underneath the plump skin.  Hence, it was hard to eat each piece, literally.  It needed to be cooked down a bit more.  Flavors were okay though with sweet and salty garlickiness.

We got some veggies into the meal with the Peashoots with bean curd skin and ginko nuts.  This was good with tender pea shoots that were cooked just enough.  Broth was mild and lightly sweet.  For dessert, we had the Pineapple Buns that were fresh out of the oven.  We had to wait quite a long time for these but it was worth it.  The bun itself was pillowy soft while the sweet topping was crispy and aromatic.  In general, the Dim Sum at Harbor Bay Village was fine and certainly did the job for Christmas morning.  However, possibly due to lack of staff on Christmas day itself, it wasn't a great experience.  People literally had to go refill their own tea at the hot water station.  I went as far as clearing our table so we had space to put new dishes.  Lastly, we got our own takeout containers from the front to pack our leftovers.  I was wondering if I had to go up to the register to print out the bill and pay too.  If this isn't the norm, then I would say Dim Sum was decent.  But if the lack of service is the usual, then I would skip this place.

The Good:

- Decent eats

- Fairly large portion size

- Reasonably-priced

The Bad:

- Essentially no service

Rice & Spoon Vietnamese

Sometimes, even on vacay, I don't want to be too creative and travel far for food.  Yes, that is right, I get lazy and want to do something convenient, cheap and somewhat healthy.  That is why we ended up at Rice & Spoon Vietnamese in Newark.  Just a few minutes away from our hotel, it required very little effort and for once, very little money.  When we first arrived, we thought we had to order on the tablet at the counter, but in the end, the nice man came to take our order.

Initially, we were suppose to have all 5 of us (including my mom) go eat here but my son wasn't feeling well.  He seemed pretty well when we got come In-N-Out of him...  Suspicious...  Anyways, we started with the Double Decker Spring Rolls.  These were essentially a spring roll wrapped in a salad roll.  I've had something similar before and I feel this is the best way to go.  Normally, one would wrap a spring roll in lettuce anyways, so adding rice paper to hold it altogether made it easier to eat.  This was good where the wheat wrapper was crispy and the rice paper had a nice chew.  Only thing that could've been better was the filling as it ended up being dense.

Viv went for her ol' standby being the Pho Tái Bò Viên.  As its name suggests, there was beef meatballs and rare beef sitting in the hot broth.  The beef was fairly tender while the meatballs were at their bouncy best.  The broth was decently meaty with it bordering on being salty (without it going over).  Could pick out some sweetness as well as some charred onion vibes.  The amount of noodles was modest and cooked perfectly where it was al dente and not clumpy.

For my daughter, she also went for her usual in the Phở Gà.  Personally, this would never be my choice as the Phở Dặc Biệt ticks more boxes.  But I get it, she doesn't like the tendon and tripe...  So this version featured a clean and clear soup.  It was mild and sweet where the addition of fried garlic provided aromatics.  The noodles were just as good as the previous bowl being chewy.  There was a good amount of chicken breast which was not dry, but not juicy either.

For my mom, she had the  Bún Riêu which was loaded with noodles.  Unlike many other versions, the pork and crab meatballs were firm and not loose.  There was the usual tomato, prawns and tofu though.  In terms of the broth, this is where it got somewhat controversial.  She really didn't enjoy it since it was considerably more briny and fishy than usual.  But for me, I love it when it is more briny as that is the point of this dish.  However, I can also see how some people might feel otherwise.

Since my son wasn't with us, I represented him by ordering the Grilled Chicken with rice and fried egg.  Yes, it is his favorite Vietnamese dish but this one was lacking in char.  Despite that, the meat was still juicy and tender with enough marinade so we had some salty, briny sweetness.  Overall, the food at Rice & Spoon was serviceable and inexpensive.  The guy behind the counter was super nice and helpful.  Good option in the area.

The Good:

- Inexpensive

- Competent food

- Generous portions

The Bad:

- Competent, but there is better